Tag Archives: NI

Northern Ireland: British or Irish

Strictly speaking anyone from Northern Ireland (NI) are regarded as being British. Depending upon family circumstances you may have dual citizenship to the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain: A person from Northern Ireland may hold a British and an Irish passport. It is important to note that no matter what passport (British or Irish) a person from NI has they are regarded as British citizens in a court in Northern Ireland. Some laws are passed by Stormont (the NI assembly elected by the people of NI) but the majority have been passed by Parliament (thus the UK government) and all of these laws are enforced in any court in NI.

For religious reasons people in Northern Ireland may identify themselves as being either British or Irish. Most of the Protestant population would say they are British while most Catholics would say they were Irish.

I, however, would identify myself as being Northern Irish.

A photo of the fairly new Titanic building. No matter which angle you look at it, it looks like you are looking at the ship.

Northern Irish: Why?

Religion does not bother me in the slightest. At the end of the day that is your personal belief, not that of others. I try to avoid the topic of religion most times for this reason and only talk about it with close friends and family (if required !).

British people speak like British citizens, unsurprisingly, whereas Irish people speak like people from the Republic of Ireland.

I, however, speak like a person from Northern Ireland: I consider myself as Northern Irish because I do not speak 100% Irish or 100% British.

Northern Irish car registrations

If you buy a car from NI you will have a Northern Irish number plate. Not a British number plate, nor Republic of Ireland. Northern Irish is all over NI.

Belfast bap

There are some things that are only produced in Northern Ireland. The Belfast Bap is one of them. What is a Belfast Bap? It is a piece of soft bread enclosed in a hard crust. They are quite round, almost the size of half a football. Neither British or Republic of Ireland have Belfast baps.

This adds to a cultural reason as to why I call myself Northern Irish.

Do other people from NI identify themselves as Northern Irish?

Yes. The number of people calling themselves Northern Irish is growing. In 2009 27% of people who live in NI said they regard themselves as Northern Irish.

Being Northern Irish is a happy medium so I like to say where I am from, literally. NI so Northern Irish.

Reference

Life and Times. (2009) Which of these best describes the way you think of yourself? [Online] [Accessed on 10th April 2013] http://is.gd/N3zrLO

Recently we have been reading about the high tuition fees in the United Kingdom. Most are charging up to £9000 per year. A few days ago the Northern Ireland (NI) assembly indicated that it will charge those who are born in NI fees of around £3000 but charge those from England, Scotland and Wales yearly fees of £9000. This isn’t new, at present the Scottish government lets Scottish students study for free, if not free, around £1000 per annum.

Is it fair where you are born?

Perhaps, the rise of tuition fees (which begins next year, 2012) will stop ‘silly degrees’ being studied. But will it mean the rich to become extremely well educated, and the poor to stop at GCSE’s? What about those within our society who are middle class? Will they be able to make a decision to take out a heavy loan to further their studies.

I guess it is understandable if University courses would drastically improve. I.e., better opening hours, more tutors, more advice etc would (perhaps) justify where the actual money is going! For example, will an engineering student get to execute better projects as part of their course, or will things still be the same as they are now?

Will there be changes? Will those European lawyers open up a new path to make higher education fees standard around the UK, regardless of age, race, gender and location?!